Because he often prays with his players in the school’s locker room or on the field, football coach Joe Kennedy has been under fire from administrators at Bremerton High School in Washington State for some time. But now, it has been learned that administrators have taken the final step and fired the coach for praying.

Coach Kennedy, who is a devout Christian, has been engaging in pregame and postgame prayer circles since at least 2008; and for some time, school administrators have been warning him to stop leading the prayers. For his part, the coach has made sure that his players understand that they are under no compulsion to join the prayers, and they have the option not to participate.

Still, the coach did alter his practice to try and obey demands from school officials. Instead of having a full-blown prayer circle, Kennedy began taking a knee in prayer for some 20 seconds after shaking hands with the opposing team at the end of a game. With this, Kennedy insisted he wasn’t leading a prayer for students but was simply displaying his own religious conviction. The school, though, still demanded he stop.

However, Kennedy insists that he has a First Amendment right to take a knee in prayer after a game, whether he works for a school or not.

Ultimately, the school this month decided to put the coach on administrative leave in preparation for firing him. The move comes after school Superintendent Aaron Leavell demanded that the coach cease the personal prayers by September 17. The coach refused and continued his practice.

So, as Fox News reports, the administration this week sent the coach an official letter informing him of his removal from the school.

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“Effective immediately,” the letter read, “pending further District review of your conduct, you are placed on paid administrative leave from your position as an assistant coach with the Bremerton High School football program. You may not participate, in any capacity, in BHS football program activities.”

Leavell’s letter continued, saying: “You violated those directives by engaging in overt, public and demonstrative religious conduct while still on duty as an assistant coach.”

In a statement, the school further explained its decision: “While the district appreciates Kennedy’s many positive contributions to the BHS football program, and therefore regrets the necessity of this action, Kennedy’s conduct poses a genuine risk that the District will be liable for violating the federal and state constitutional rights of students or others. For this reason, Kennedy will not be allowed to further violate the District’s directives.”

The coach’s lawyer, Hiram Sasser, said that the district’s move was a hostile action.